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Mq ApplianceApplication · Ibm

CVE-2021-29843

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-11-08
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 9.1.0.9 / 9.2.0.3 or later.
See remediation →
71/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
IBM MQ 9.1 LTS, 9.1 CD, 9.2 LTS, and 9.2CD is vulnerable to a denial of service attack caused by an issue processing message properties. IBM X-Force ID: 205203.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · moderate confidence

IBM MQ versions 9.1 LTS, 9.1 CD, 9.2 LTS, and 9.2CD contain a denial of service vulnerability caused by improper handling of message properties. An attacker can send specially crafted messages with malformed properties to cause the MQ queue manager to become unresponsive or terminate.

MitigationApply the IBM security patch for this vulnerability. Until patched, monitor MQ queue managers for unusual message patterns and consider implementing message validation at ingress points.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Mq ApplianceApplication
Affected:>= 9.1.0.0, < 9.1.0.9>= 9.1.0.0, < 9.2.3>= 9.2.0.0, < 9.2.0.3

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify IBM MQ Appliance version
    Run the command 'mqconfig' or check the appliance web console under System > Configuration > IBM MQ to view the installed MQ version
    Affected if The displayed version falls within 9.1.0.0 through 9.1.0.8, or 9.2.0.0 through 9.2.0.2, or 9.2.1.0 through 9.2.2.x
  2. Verify queue manager is running
    Use the command 'dspmq' or check via the MQ web console to list active queue managers
    Affected if Any queue manager is in running status, as the vulnerability triggers when malformed message properties are processed by an active queue manager
  3. Check if queue managers accept external messages
    Inspect queue definitions using the MQSC command 'DISPLAY QUEUE' or via the web console to see which queues have the GET or PUT attributes enabled
    Affected if Queues are configured to accept messages (PUT=ENABLED) from external or untrusted sources, as the attack vector involves sending specially crafted messages to these queues
  4. Review MQ logs for DoS symptoms
    Examine the queue manager error logs located in /var/mqm/errors/ or via the web console logs for entries containing message property errors or queue manager termination events
    Affected if Logs show repeated message property errors, unusually high CPU usage by the queue manager process, or unexpected queue manager restarts

The environment is affected if the IBM MQ Appliance version is 9.1.0.0 through 9.1.0.8, 9.2.0.0 through 9.2.0.2, or 9.2.1.0 through 9.2.2, and the queue manager is actively running and accepting messages.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 9.1.0.9 / 9.2.0.3 / 9.2.3 or later
Fixed in 9.1.0.99.2.0.39.2.3
Interim mitigation

Apply the IBM security patch for this vulnerability. Until patched, monitor MQ queue managers for unusual message patterns and consider implementing message validation at ingress points.

Recommended fix High confidence

IBM MQ Appliance 9.1.0.9 (LTS) or 9.2.0.3 (LTS) or 9.2.3 (CD) depending on your release track

  1. Identify your current IBM MQ Appliance version and track (LTS or CD) using the mqversion command or Web Console
  2. For 9.1 LTS customers: Upgrade to IBM MQ Appliance 9.1.0.9 or later
  3. For 9.2 LTS customers: Upgrade to IBM MQ Appliance 9.2.0.3 or later
  4. For 9.1 CD/9.2 CD customers: Upgrade to IBM MQ Appliance 9.2.3 or later
  5. After upgrade, verify the new version using the mqversion command
  6. Test that message property processing functions correctly in your environment
Caveat Review IBM MQ release notes for any compatibility changes between your current version and the target upgrade version before deploying

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Mq Appliance Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
28.0 hours of engineering $4,760
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-29843 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data